|
Proper 7 RCL
“The man from whom the demons had
gone
Meeting the
Lord of the Storm On Wednesday nights during June we are studying the book St. Benedict’s Toolbox by The Rev. Jane Tomaine. We have learned that the Benedictine way of life includes stability (to stay put); obedience (to listen and respond to God’s direction); and conversion of life (to remain open to transformation). The author defined stability as “a call to remain where we are and to find grace in that relationship, place, or situation.” This excludes abusive situations, of course. If he hits you, run. If she hits you, run. Obedience, Tomaine says, includes listening to God in many ways. We can hear God in Holy Scripture, in conversation with others, in our community and world, and in spiritual teachers. As we hear, we should try to respond to what we believe is God’s call to us. Stability and obedience could get us into a rut, but they are balanced out by conversion of life. This is sometimes called “conversion of manners” because this quality is marked by our openness that invites God to change our hearts and minds. When we think of Benedictines, we usually think of people living in cloistered monasteries. However, the combination of daily prayer and weekly worship in the Episcopal Church is based on a model designed by St. Benedict early in the sixth century. Our baptismal vows to seek and serve Christ in all persons and to respect the dignity of every human being bespeak a Benedictine influence. But let’s back up several hundred years from St. Benedict to think about our Gospel reading for today. We have the amazing story of the man who is known as the “Gadarene Demoniac.” Picture him if you dare: he had “demons.” For some period of time he had not worn any clothing. He did not live in a house, but lived among the tombs. To the people of his city he was as good as dead because they had tried to restrain him. They had thrown him into jail and had bound him with chains and shackles, but he had broken loose and had gone back to the cemetery. By this time they probably had given up on him. But my best guess is that he had family back in the city, along with former friends and acquaintances who were bewildered by his behavior. We wonder how he had gotten into this state and how long he had been that way. Now picture Jesus. Jesus had just arrived on the east side of the Lake Genesaret, called the Sea of Galilee. His disciples were in a state of astonishment because as they crossed the lake, Jesus had stilled the wind and waves of a sudden raging storm. The Gadarene Demoniac met the Lord of wind and waves at the water’s edge. A storm was raging in his life. Is that his voice, or the voice of the demons that shouts at Jesus, begging Jesus not to torment him? It must be the demons, because they bargain with Jesus and beg him not to send them back to the nether world. When the text tells of the demons entering the swine, rushing down a steep bank into the lake and drowning, I have that picture in my mind too. The Sea of Galilee is like a gigantic bowl, flanked in many areas with sheer vertical stony cliffs. The loss of livestock caused an uproar in the town and when the people came out to see what had happened they found the former demoniac clothed and in his right mind. He was sound and whole, “sitting at the feet of Jesus”, which means that he had become a disciple of Jesus. The townspeople asked Jesus to leave and gentleman that he is, Jesus got into the boat and went back across the lake. He got a warm welcome on the other side of the lake, by the way. But Jesus had to leave his brand-new convert. The Gadarene man begged to go with Jesus. And Jesus said, “No.” Now, isn’t this a twist. When Jesus called the twelve disciples, he walked along the shores of that same lake and said to them, “Follow me.” Those disciples did not ask to follow Jesus. Jesus invited them. Peter, Andrew, James and John left their fishing boats and followed Jesus. Matthew left the tax collection booth and followed Jesus. Jesus had invited others to leave all and follow him, and here we have the story of a very eager man who wants to follow Jesus. He is now a disciple who wants to be with his Rabbi. But what does Jesus say to him? “No.” No, he can’t follow Jesus back across the Lake. Jesus sends him back to the town. He has to go back and face those people who bound him with chains and shackles. He has to go back to the people who have seen him at his worst. He might have had to face legal issues for his previous behavior, but still he was one of them. That was his city and those were his people, so he became an evangelist, proclaiming in the entire city how much Jesus had done for him. At this point our Gadarene man connects with the Rule of St. Benedict. Jesus exacts of him stability. He has to stay put. He has to persevere, to endure the slings and arrows of those who taunt him, and to remain faithful to God in that situation. The former demoniac became, in effect, and indigenous missionary. Since the people in his city were afraid of Jesus and sent Jesus away, it was really a grace that Jesus did not allow the man to follow him back across the lake. Jesus was always having compassion on the crowds because they were like sheep without a shepherd, so Jesus appointed an undershepherd -- someone to tell them the Good News. They would be more likely to hear it from this man who had been healed -- this man who was one of them -- than to hear it from Jesus himself. Like good Benedictines after him, this Gadarene man practiced obedience. He listened and responded to God’s direction as revealed to him by Jesus. He must have been what we would call a “quick study.” We don’t know how long he was privileged to sit at the feet of Jesus before the townspeople came back to the scene of the exorcism. Whatever length of time he had turned out to be long enough for this man to “get it.” He caught on to what it means to share his story that was now permanently linked with Jesus’ story. In the last few years, there has been a movement in churches for people to tell their spiritual stories. Those of you who have taken Education for Ministry classes have experienced this in an intense way. Anyone who wants to be a priest has to write a spiritual autobiography and tell that story from many different perspectives. Our stories help us to know who we are and help us to know each other better. Even if you don’t have to share your spiritual autobiography in a formal setting, it would be a good idea to write it out, just to help you see where you have come from and where you are headed. I believe it would also be safe to say that the Gadarene man was open to transformation, that is, he had an ongoing conversion of life. His initial openness to God to change his heart stood him in good stead when he became a missionary to his own people. Scripture does not reveal to us whether this man was successful in winning converts. It is important to remember, though, that initially this man begged Jesus for the privilege of going with him back across the lake. The fact that he was obedient and stayed put shows us that his life was never the same, once he had met Jesus. The Lord of the storm is also the Lord of the calm, and Jesus asked his new convert to bloom where he was planted. Is that what Jesus is asking us to do? It might cut down on some of our anxieties. Amen.
|
|
